Flawed voter rolls affect more than 1,000 in Pulaski CountyLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Officials say over 1,000 people in Pulaski County were affected by flawed voter registration data received by the Arkansas secretary of state's office. The state flagged 1,730 names in the county for removal from voter rolls due to felony convictions as required under state law, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2bDdOMN ) reports. But the county clerk's office later determined that 65 percent of those names ...

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Officials support medical marijuanaLITTLE ROCK -- Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful Conner Eldridge endorsed legalizing medical marijuana on Monday, a move that comes days after Arkansas Democrats voted to support making the drug available to some patients. But both Eldridge and state Democrats stopped short of endorsing either one of two competing ballot measures on medical marijuana. Eldridge, a former federal prosecutor facing an uphill battle to unseat Republican U.S. Sen. Joh...

Shelter for male domestic violence victims draws attentionBATESVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Being the nation's first — and only — shelter for male domestic violence victims, it didn't take long for The Taylor House near Batesville to capture national attention. But while the word continues to get out about the shelter, men are less likely to seek help after being abused and those do who face an additional stigma, according to Bill Miller, who is the shelter's manager. "This is genderless," Miller said. He said...

Arkansas officers driven to find little boy they never metSEARCY, Ark. (AP) — Officer Terri Lee closed her eyes and turned away, hurriedly wiping away tears as she talked about Malik Drummond. Over the course of a year, the investigation into the child's disappearance consumed hundreds of man-hours and involved 25 officers from the Searcy Police Department. Three officers recounted the effect the missing child had on them and others. Lee first heard about Malik around 6:30 on the evening of Nov. 23, ...

Ex doctor denied new trial in 2009 grenade attackLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — A federal judge has denied a new trial for a former doctor serving a life sentence in a 2009 grenade attack that severely injured the Arkansas medical board's chairman. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette reports (http://bit.ly/2bIWCnQ ) the judge denied Randeep Mann's petition on Friday, ruling that Mann received a fair trial. Mann was seeking a new trial because he claimed his attorneys were ineffective and that federal pr...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arkansas governor criticizes marijuana, casino proposalsHOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — Legalizing medical marijuana would be a drain on the state's resources, Gov. Asa Hutchinson said Thursday as legalization supporters asked the state's highest court to dismiss an attempt to prevent a vote on their proposal this fall. The governor also expressed opposition to a casino ballot measure while speaking to the Association of Arkansas Counties. Hutchinson, the former head of the federal Drug Enforcement Admini...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Arkansas to end voluntary boot-camp program for inmatesLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Correction is ending its boot camp program after prison officials said it was difficult to find enough inmates willing to participate. The Board of Corrections voted Wednesday to end the program after its current roster of 86 inmates finishes the course. Department of Correction Director Wendy Kelley told the board that the program was plagued by high rates of recidivism and empty beds. "For ...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Marion County voters to again consider sales tax increaseYELLVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Voters in Marion County will again consider whether to raise their sales tax to pay for the construction of a new jail. The Marion County Quorum Court on Tuesday unanimously approved an ordinance that will put a proposed 0.50 percent sales tax increase on the November ballot. If approved, the tax revenue will pay for construction of a new $8.25 million jail. The Harrison Daily Times reports (http://bit.ly/2caSmmi ) that ...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Court asked to overturn ex-Arkansas judge's convictionLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — An attorney for a former Arkansas circuit court judge is asking a federal appeals court to overturn the judge's bribery conviction or reduce his 10-year prison sentence. The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2bge70U ) reports that attorney John Wesley Hall wrote in a document filed Tuesday that Michael Maggio's sentence is unreasonable. Maggio admitted in a plea agreement to accepting campaign donations from a n...

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Missing 2-year-old boy found dead in Madison CountyHINDSVILLE, Ark. (AP) — Authorities say a missing 2-year-old boy has been found dead in northwestern Arkansas. The Arkansas Game and Fish Commission says the body of the boy was found about 9:45 a.m. Wednesday. A commission spokesman said he had no additional information on where the boy was found. The child's name has not been released. KHOG-TV reports that the boy disappeared about 8 p.m. Tuesday after apparently wandering away from his home...

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Arkansas couple accused of zip-tying child plead not guiltyHOT SPRINGS, Ark. (AP) — An Arkansas couple has pleaded not guilty to battery and abuse charges after they were accused of zip-tying the woman's 4-year-old daughter to her bed as punishment. The 30-year-old woman and her 47-year-old boyfriend are charged in Hot Springs with first-degree domestic battery, permitting the abuse of a minor and first-degree endangering the welfare of a minor. Both remain jailed on $100,000 bond Wednesday, a day aft...

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Former University of Arkansas student files lawsuit in rape caseFAYETTEVILLE, Ark. (AP) — A former student at the University of Arkansas at Fayetteville has filed a federal lawsuit alleging the school acted with "deliberate indifference" after she reported that she was raped by another student. The lawsuit was filed Monday, The Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2bgyriI ) reports. It alleges the university violated Title IX, a federal law that prohibits sex discrimination at schools that receive fede...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley

Body found in Cache River is identified as Paragould manPITTS, Ark. (AP) — The Jackson County Sheriff's Office says a body found in the Cache River near Pitts last week has been identified as that of a Paragould man. Sheriff's Capt. Ricky Morales told reporters that Tuesday that the state Crime Lab has identified the body as 38-year-old Jesse Lee Gates. Gates' body was discovered by a farmer last Friday in the river along the Jackson-Poinsett County line and was pulled from the river on the Jackson...

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Gas leak, lit cigarette causes North Little Rock explosionNORTH LITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — North Little Rock firefighters say a natural gas leak sparked by a lit cigarette caused a home explosion that injured 14 people. Fire Capt. David Wilson told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette (http://bit.ly/2bqNLtH ) Monday that a resident of the house told police she had smelled natural gas in the home and another person in the house at the time of the blast told police it exploded after he lit a cigarette. The hous...

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Man gets 40 years in prison in Texarkana store stabbingTEXARKANA, Ark. (AP) — A man charged in the stabbing of two convenience store clerks in Texarkana in 2015 has been sentenced to 40 years in prison. The Texarkana Gazette (http://bit.ly/2bAQDU7 ) reports that 25-year-old David Clark Jr. was sentenced Monday. He had pleaded guilty to two counts of attempted capital murder and one count of aggravated robbery. Prosecutors say Clark attacked two clerks with a box cutter in a convenience store on Ma...

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Trial begins in ASU police standoffJONESBORO, Ark. (AP) — A jury has been selected in the trial of a 48-year-old man charged following a standoff with police that briefly closed down Arkansas State University's campus last year. Brad Bartelt is charged with five counts of aggravated assault, one count of making a terrorist threat and one count of terroristic threatening, The Jonesboro Sun (http://bit.ly/2bRLTep ) reports. A jury was selected Monday. Authorities say Bartelt drov...

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Body of missing Leachville man found in St. Francis RiverMONETTE, Ark. (AP) — The Craighead County sheriff's office says the body of a missing Leachville man has been found in the St. Francis River. The Jonesboro Sun reports the body found Monday morning in the river near Monette has been identified as Erick Perez. Sheriff Marty Boyd told reporters that Perez and two other men were in a boat on the river when it capsized about midnight Friday. Authorities say the two men with Perez told investigator...

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Body of missing Arkansas woman found in flooded MissouriPOPLAR BLUFF, Mo. (AP) — Authorities have found the body of a missing Arkansas woman in southeast Missouri after she called 911 to report that she was trapped in a flooding car. The Missouri State Highway Patrol says the body of 44-year-old Ginger Myers, of Concord, Arkansas, was found Friday. KFVS-TV (http://bit.ly/2b3gTH0 ) reports that Butler County Sheriff Mark Dobbs said her family found her car submerged near a bridge. Myers' call for he...

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Number of kids in Arkansas foster care tops 5KLITTLE ROCK, Ark. (AP) — Officials say the number of children in foster care Arkansas has reached an all-time high at over 5,000. Division of Children and Family Services director Mischa Martin says the number reached about 5,050 earlier this month. From March 2015 to March 2016, the number of children in foster care increased from over 4,000 to nearly 5,000, but the state has reversed a trend of losing foster families every quarter, The Arkan...

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Arkansas prison unit named for slain correctional officerPINE BLUFF, Ark. (AP) — The Arkansas Department of Correction will dedicate a facility that's being named in honor of a correctional officer who was killed in the line of duty. The agency will formally dedicate the Barbara Ester Unit in Pine Bluff on Wednesday morning. The new unit is on the grounds of the Pine Bluff Complex and is the agency's first re-entry facility for inmates who are preparing to transition out of the prison system and int...

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THE ASSOCIATED PRESSThe Courier Your Messenger For The River Valley